Unmitigated Fun

Covent Garden at the cinema,experienced by MARIA NOCKIN

On 10 September 2010, the BritishRoyal Opera opened with a rollicking performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Così fan tutte which was not only seen and heard in the Covent GardenOpera House, but around the world via Emerging Pictures' HD live Opera in Cinema. This reviewer saw it at the Harkins Theater in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. Although Emerging Pictures has already brought performances from La Scala in Milan and Teatro Liceu in Barcelona to the US, this was our first live view of the London venue. For those of us who live in the desert, the rainy English night, itself, was a novel sight. Unfortunately, the live simulcast began at 11am in Arizona when many prospective viewers were at work...